EDITORIAL

That's the mantra of many non-profit organizations, which pride themselves on being above the grimy, money-making fray and take seriously their mission of helping others.

Yet, when it comes to hiring minority suppliers and vendors, the area's non-profit groups are woefully behind their corporate counterparts.

For legal, business and moral reasons, that needs to change. Those operating under the non-profit umbrella are not necessarily small, neighborhood operations; they include large medical centers, museums and foundations. Such groups get taxpayer-supported grants or funds, which, for fairness' sake, should compel them to hire a healthy roster of qualified minority firms.

Two local groups are prodding the non-profits to do better: the Alliance of Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs and the Chicago Minority Business Development Council Inc.

Both organizations realize what the non-profits have been slow to recognize -- namely, that the economic recovery has spawned thousands of innovative and qualified minority-owned start-up firms and greater growth for established minority-owned companies.

Those companies deserve to be connected to the area's non-profit community. Non-profits must reach out to these groups and start doing more business with a larger number of minority-owned concerns.